What Giancarlo Esposito Would Look Like As The MCU's Doctor Doom
The Fantastic Four have had an arduous journey on their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There were already two Fantastic Four movies released through 20th Century Fox, back in the mid-2000s, starring a baby-faced, pre-Captain America Chris Evans as Johnny Storm. Then, in 2015, the same studio tried again, this time employing director Josh Trank to make a more serious version of Marvel's first family. It didn't go great. In all that time, there were many discussions about what, if anything, had been adapted correctly from the Fantastic Four comics so far — and what characters have yet to find themselves a truly suitable, live-action portrayal.
Now that Disney has formally announced that a Marvel Studios Fantastic Four movie is on the way, there's one character in particular who Marvel fans are especially excited to see, and that's Victor Von Doom — a figure who stands to become one of the biggest new presences in the MCU. So far, we've seen Doctor Doom played by Julian McMahon and Toby Kebbell. But what if Doom was played by an actor we've already come to respect in the last decade, specifically for playing iconic villains?
One actor whom fans have often mentioned as a possibility to don Doom's armor is Giancarlo Esposito. Considering how plausible that casting could be, we're lucky that a talented Instagram artist has now given us a good glimpse of what he might look like under the green hood.
Gus Fring plus Moff Gideon equals ... Doctor Doom?
There's already figurative money on the line regarding Giancarlo Esposito as Doctor Doom: when it comes to casting Marvel's most celebrated villain, Esposito is an early favorite, whose odds have been ranked at a +350 — that's considerably more than any other actor people are betting on, including the likes of Cillian Murphy, Michael Fassbender, and Viggo Mortensen. And whether this casting happens or not, it's not hard to figure out why people at the very least suspect that Esposito would be an excellent Doom. The actor's turn as the villainous Gus Fring, on both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, is nothing short of iconic. Esposito followed that up by taking the comic book world by storm as Vought's sinister CEO Stan Edgar on Amazon's The Boys. And if that wasn't enough, Esposito has also became a fan favorite in the Star Wars universe, by playing the Darksaber-wielding Moff Gideon on The Mandalorian.
At this point, the only concern we have about Esposito playing Doctor Doom is that maybe it'd be too easy for him. Still, emoting through a full set of armor and a metal mask is a worthy challenge — just ask Pedro Pascal, who has been playing Din Djarin through a Mandalorian mask for the better part of two seasons — and Esposito has already expressed interest in joining the MCU, as he told Entertainment Weekly.
With that in mind, it's worth checking out the image that ApexForm has come up with, as seen above, to demonstrate what Giancarlo Esposito might look like as Victor Von Doom. The result is a heavily scarred, cloaked Esposito, staring into the distance, with all the regal flair of his comic book counterpart.
Of course, whether or not Esposito will actually get cast as Doom is anyone's guess. But with a while to go before the next Fantastic Four film even begins production, it's at least a possibility.